If He's Hungry
by Marsnmango
Summary: ...Feed him. That was the instinct that overcame Kousuke as he stumbled across the thieving brat that had been stealing bread from his mother's precious bakery. - (Kousuke is in high school, Ken and Masahiro are grade-schoolers. The age difference is the same.) Initially a one-shot.


"Kousuke." the Ooshiba mother called, pausing to remove her apron from her waist. "Can you come here, please?"

Her eldest son had been stowing the dishes when his name was called, and he made his way to the kitchen with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. Quickly mindful of returning it to its box before his mother could make a fuss. "What's wrong?"

She was visibly distressed, as she appeared to be searching high and low for something, shuffling through cabinets and opening several drawers; making a mess, in general. "I was going to warm up the leftover bread for breakfast. But I can't find it anywhere..!"

He looked around as well, though not with nearly the same amount of vigor. "If it's not here, isn't it obvious that Ken stuffed his face with it? I'll wring it out of him."

"Oh, thank you, Kousuke." A mother was happiest when her children got along "But I already asked Ken and he said that he had nothing to do with it…"

Footsteps resounded down the staircase, presenting a golden opportunity for Kousuke to wait at the bottom with his arms crossed. The overwhelming aura caused Kensuke to stumble and grab the railing. "Wh-What did I do?!"

Height was to the advantage of the older brother, however, and he managed to hook Ken around the neck and lock him in place with a proper choke-hold. "Why'd you steal the bread, you little piggy!"

"Agh, I didn't I-I didn't, I swear! On my life, on Kuwakichi's life!" he thrashed around wildly until he was dropped on his ass.

"Ken didn't do it." he confirmed "He's a bad liar. You probably sold out and forgot about it, Mom."

It was the most reasonable conclusion and yet, something about it left Miho looking around restlessly. And fruitlessly as well, for that matter. "But I could have sworn… Ah, well. I'll just make something else!" her demeanor was cheerful in spite of the fact that she was still puzzled. And the mystery of the missing bread would likely haunt her for the remainder of that morning, like a confusing dream.

"Don't worry, I'll make breakfast." he offered "You can just worry about the bakery while Ken gets ready, and I'll drive him to school."

"Oh, no, at least let me do that!" she insisted, "I love taking Ken to school. It reminds me of when you were young. Remember? Ah, where did I leave that photo album…"

Before she could wrestle it out of whatever dark void he'd stowed it in, he conceded, "Alright, I get it. Drive Ken to school and I'll keep an eye on the shop while you're gone."

She seemed happy enough, given the opportunity to indulge in seeing her son off. But she worried. "Huh? Don't you have school today, Kousuke…?"

"We're 'on holiday' for building reparations." Such was the result of a recent outburst at school, caused by some delinquents getting rowdy on campus. The vandalism was excessive and infuriating to think about it.

"Oh, I see! I hope it all goes well." she dished out the salad once it was finished and assisted Kousuke with breakfast, though he did insist that she needn't worry about it.

As Ken finished eating, Kousuke placed his bag in his hands. "Your bento's in there. Don't cause any trouble today, or I'll eat you. Got it?"

Ken nodded, smiling happily at the prospect of having a long day of play ahead of him, in spite of the warning. Kousuke ruffled his hair as he left, led out by his mother's gentle hand.

With them gone, Kousuke had some free time on his hands. Preparations were finished quickly but the mornings were often slow, so there would be no patronage for a good while.

In any case, he resigned to sitting back in the kitchen with a magazine in hand while the food baked. Like this, he was at peace without a single customer nor request to stir him from this pristine opportunity to relax.

Or so he would have liked, but the sound of something rattling echoed in the back of his mind until he realized that he was not imagining things. Initially, he suspected a customer but the shop was as empty now as it had been all morning.

Furthermore, it was coming from the back. He rose to investigate it, attributing it to another feline fixated on the promise of free food, but heard no such indication that a cat was present. And as he looked around, he spotted the peculiar sight of the doorknob turning; slowly.

" _Looks like we have an uninvited guest."_ he thought bitterly, deciding to chastise his mother later for doing something so reckless as leaving the door unlocked.

He waited a moment longer to see if the intruder would make the mistake of sneaking in, but the rattling slowed; as if there was some sort of hesitation.

Curious and altogether impatient, he threw the door open himself. "Customers should use the front entrance!"

A thud resounded through the narrow alleyway, but he could not find what he had hoped for: a flustered delinquent, or an idiot scrambling to get away. Nothing quite so entertaining, unfortunately.

Rather, he had a hard time finding anything _at all_ until he looked down. But the presence of the small figure that hit the floor was so fleeting, he was half convinced that he'd been visited by a spirit. "Huh? A kid?"

He tried to get a closer look, but the child ran off.

Disappointed, he stood for a while longer. Until the front door's chimes alerted him of a customer, and so he returned to the shop and locked the side door behind him.

* * *

Though the remainder of that evening passed uneventfully, he was not through with his discovery of the potential bread caper. Especially now that he knew it was a child who was bold enough to skip school in order to steal from a helpless little bakery.

So he took the day off from school, although he had to feign a slight sickness. Fibbing to his mother was never something that he enjoyed doing, but for the sake of her bakery, he would go to any lengths.

The wait was long; there was no sign of any potential intruder until far later in the day, half an hour til noon. Part of him was worried that he'd skipped school for nothing, having scared off the culprit prematurely.

" _Just wait it out."_ he urged himself as he grew all the more restless with each passing minute.

Soon and surely enough, the rattling was back. Rather than a rat or a cat, he knew exactly who to wait for and how.

The lights in the kitchen were dimmed low, so that when the door cracked, the kid would be given the impression of an unoccupied store room. Such was exactly how it appeared, with the exception of the functioning ovens. Meanwhile, he chose to pin himself atop the counter, although his long legs gave him a figure that was considerably harder to hide.

Even so, the door cracked with minimal hesitation. Though the kid was diligent when he looked to and fro in search of a witness.

How bold of him, to attempt such a thing in broad daylight. Still, to memorize the times in which the kitchen was least likely to be occupied was ingenious. It took him a minute to muster up the confidence to set foot inside. But once he did, he was apparently secure enough to shut the door behind him and creep into the nearest drawer where the unbaked bread was stored in paper. As he reached out to grab one…

Kousuke descended from the counter, landing on the floor with a rough stomp, practically scaring the kid out of his wits. The lights flickered on and the bold little thief immediately threw himself to the floor with his hands braced across his head and neck, as if he too would be stomped. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry..!"

He loomed over the kid with an aura that was naturally intimidating and set to reprimanding him, "So… You're the thief that's been stealing from my mother's bakery, hah? I should straighten you out, then." his foot hovered over the kid's stomach.

The kid was trembling at this point, enough so that criticizing him any further almost seemed like overkill. But, mercy was for those who were not thieves. "Geez, quit crying already… I promise I won't step on you. But you can't run away, got it?"

He nodded timidly, shaking the petrified tears from his eyes as he sat up, free of the looming foot.

"You… Shouldn't a kid like you be in school right now?" he remarked, "What would your mother think. You'll make her cry."

The kid sat properly on his knees with his head lowered, "My mom? But she…"

"Anyways, I'm calling the police. They'll take you back home and give you a good lecture about what happens to thieves when they're no longer cute." he threatened with a hand on the cellphone in his pocket.

This, however, stirred the kid out of his daze because he pressed his head and hands against the floor with a desperate plea, "Please don't call the police! I won't do it again, I promise! I'll leave you alone and never come back. So please don't call the police!"

This desperation was not unexpected.

It was the police, after all. They would be merciful in consideration towards his age and yet, something about the troubled look on his face, the shaking of his shoulders, made him feel that it was somehow… excessive.

It was more troublesome than merely sending him home, at least. That much was understandable, so he relented with a heavy sigh "Fine… I won't call the police." he looked down to gauge the kid's reaction, but he was still pressed against the floor. "But next time, I'm calling your parents, little brat."

"I don't know where my mom is…" he got to his feet and fiddled with his hands. Being in the presence of such a daunting man was enough to make him nervous, so it seemed. "Other than here, there's no one to call, so…"

Perhaps that was his way of requesting that he wouldn't try to call, or maybe it was a cry for help. One way or another, Kousuke decided… that this person was actually a lot more troublesome than dealing with a thieving delinquent.

* * *

He wound up seating the kid at the kitchen table. The freshest thing in the bakery, at that moment, was a sponge cake and so that was what he was offered. It wasn't much, either. But it didn't stop the kid from digging into it so recklessly that he burnt his lower lip.

"Hey, hey; kids should just take their time eating. You'll forget the taste of it if you eat it too slow."

Now that he was seeing the kid up close for the first time, he realized that he couldn't have been much older than Ken. He was a grade school kid at best and his feet barely touched the floor. He was skinny, as well.

"I'll make you some food." he offered, "But first. Tell me your name, and why you've been stealing from our shop."

The kid choked down the cake until it was gone. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and stared at the empty plate. "M...Masahiro Setegawa. I… I'm sorry! It's because… the scent from this place. It's sweet, and I can smell it even when I'm a block away. I knew that the lady who owns this place leaves the door unlocked, so...I…"

Kousuke took a seat across from him, deciding that standing over his chair in such a way was probably more intimidating than he'd intended. Though he wasn't satisfied with his explanation in the slightest, he leaned on one arm and listened thoughtfully. More questions were surfacing than were being answered.

"Wait here." he ordered with a sigh as he headed back into the kitchen, to fix up a proper meal. It made the most sense to feed someone that was hungry, after all.

What he prepared was nothing extravagant, and not quite as high in nutritional value as he would have liked, but he'd read somewhere that overeating in an undernourished body could have serious consequences. So the kid would have to settle for a small plate of rice, vegetables and raw egg until further notice.

However, when he brought the plate back to the table, which had only been minimally out of sight… the kid was gone, and the chair was slightly pushed out. The only thing he'd left behind was an empty plate and a very confused teenager who was left to fret over what to do with this food, with no one to feed it to.

That night, he reassured his mother that her bread was safe from now on. To which Ken happily declared, "See! I told you it wasn't me!"

Ken was silenced with a meatbun to the face, but he ate it happily nonetheless. Sweet Miho was happy to hear the news. "Ah, really? I wonder what happened. Was I misplacing things after all?"

"No, no." he stuck his chopsticks into the rice he'd preserved since that morning, "It was nothing. A stray wandered in. Maybe I should start putting food out for it..."

She thought it odd, but trusted her son unquestioningly. "Oh…! Ah, be careful about feeding strays, Kousuke, You shouldn't feed them unless you intend to take responsibility for them, okay?" Such was her gentle advice, which couldn't have been more accurate even if she had known the whole truth.

"Right. I'll keep that in mind, thanks Mom."

As he looked down at his half-eaten plate, he wondered if that child was hungry right about now.

* * *

The neighborhood that their bakery resided in was generally quiet. There were no real notable outbreaks in crime with the exception of the occasional loitering delinquent and whatnot, but such was not unexpected. And there were a few things that kept the yankee population from doubling, such as the location, the local police as well as…

Kousuke Ooshiba, who found it fun to straighten out arrogant trash every once in awhile.

Those were his intentions that night, at least, when he came across a park that had apparently turned into a hot pot of rough-looking guys who sought their amusement in being obnoxiously loud.

The noise volume could have easily been overlooked, but they were desecrating the park by turning it into their own personal trash dumb for empty beer cans and snack waste. That sort of thing could give a lovely neighborhood like this a bad reputation, and…

That would be bad for business.

As he approached the group with the intention of "chatting them up", something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

There on the swingset, sat a pair of little boys who were so quiet that they seemed like ghosts. Especially the black-haired one, who did not even look up as he drew closer.

It was just a hunch, but the silhouette of that small frame, even in the dark, reminded him so heavily of the hungry little pet he'd come across earlier that week. The one that had urged food out of his hand and then scurried off, like a feral cat. Or perhaps a mouse would have described him more adequately.

"You, kids. What do you think you're doing out here, past your bedtime."

The one that resembled Masahiro the most stiffened right up, and his suspicions were immediately confirmed. The brat looked up as if he were horrified, garnering the attention of the boy on his left side, who eyed Kousuke warily.

Neither of them were quick to respond, but eventually Masahiro stammered out a reluctant apology. "I-I'm sorry! I…!"

Kousuke placed a hand on his head. Without having to say anything at all, the kid managed to chill out a bit. "You ran off without eating anything. That meal almost went to waste, thanks to you."

"H-Huh? I..didn't mean to-" his grip on the swingset tightened up, as though he were in trouble. But Kousuke made no such indication that he intended to yell, and yet…

"Hey! You, kids! Who's that, someone bothering you?" the voice that interrupted them was gruff and unnecessarily loud.

He turned to find that several people, practically the whole group, had rallied around him as if he were putting on some sort of show. Though he suspected what their concern was, they grew annoying rather quickly.

"So, you ain't man enough to fight one of us. You target kids?"

"Is that it?"

"Kick his ass, Toru!"

Toru, whom was apparently the infuriatingly proud owner of that annoyingly loud voice from before, cracked his knuckles. "Are you tryin' to pick a fight, shitty T-shirt guy? What kind of perverted shit are you telling these kids, huh?"

"What." his irritation was on the rise, as was expected from someone who was just accused of something atrocious. For no reason.

A tug on his shirt interrupted him, and it was apparent that Masahiro was trying to grab his attention, or anyone's attention. "I-It's not like that… Please, don't fight! You can't!"

He kept his hand on Masahiro's head and ruffled his hair, lightly. He glanced at the other child for a brief moment, and what he saw was rather… unexpected.

The kid, who had been completely aloof a moment ago, was now apparently gripping the swingset in frustration. His eyes were unreadable as he kept his head downcast with hair that covered half of his face, and he ground out bitterly, "Go… Away…" Before he could question this… strange reaction, that idiotic person made his appearance again.

"Yamase, Masahiro!"

The kids straightened up slightly at Toru's call.

"Watch this closely, alright? This is what happens when you mess with our fun, you bastard!" as he asserted this 'lesson', his arm was pulled back and he resorted to throwing the first punch quickly.

Kousuke was fast, managed to dodge effortlessly and retaliate quickly in spite of his hesitations. "Someone who fights in front of children is nothing but trash! What kind of shitty morals are you teaching them, you idiots?!"

As the adults fought, Yamase, who had grown accustomed to seeing this, wandered away from the fray in favor of some place quiet. His instinct was to grab Masahiro and bring him along, but Masahiro was frozen; as useless and petrified as a statue, capable of nothing until he'd managed the sense enough to move.

The fight lasted until several men were taken out, Toru included. Unable to face this man's unrivaled fighting spirit, those who remained standing ran off. As was expected of cowards.

"Idiots." he kicked up a piece of trash, brushing sweat off his brow. "First you fight in front of kids. Then you leave them behind? Not worth shit."

Speaking of those brats, he turned to the swingset but found it vacant. Then began a somewhat frantic search for the kids throughout the park; however small it was, losing two kids in the dark was no laughing matter.

However, his search was not fruitless. As he neared the play structure, he took it upon himself to reach inside and scoop up the little body that had huddled up in it. "There you are."

Masahiro was surprised, to say the least, but made no significant struggle. "Y-You…!"

"It's time for a kid like you to go to bed. You've caused me a lot of trouble up til now, so just come quietly. Got it?" It was a villainous thing, in spite of his heroic intentions. Masahiro didn't seem to mind, though.

He decided that it would be easiest to carry Masahiro home on his back, so he did. "Where'd your friend go?" he looked around, and checked the play structure again. But either he was a lot better at hiding, or…

"He went away… I dunno where he went." was his honest reply. "S-Sorry… For Yamase and the others, I…"

"That's not something you should be apologizing for." he pointed out, and didn't receive another reply from the child after that. Though he worried about offending the kid, it was merely because Masahiro had fallen asleep on his shoulder, because it was a bit too strenuous, even on the most adult-like kids, to stay up past midnight.

* * *

When the boy awoke, he was groggy as usual, and hungry; the type of combination that made it difficult to motivate oneself to get out of bed. Yet, being the naive little brat that he was, what motivated him was not purpose, but rather, instinct… And fear, upon realizing quickly that the bed he was in was not the homely little futon he was used to.

He frantically hopped off of it, figuring out that the floor was a further jump than he'd anticipated and—landed right on top of someone's stomach.

With an indignant outburst of pain, Kousuke sat up and grabbed the little offender by his foot. "Shit… I knew I was right to sleep here. But I didn't think you'd be brave enough to step on me."

Masahiro was caught in a bear trap. Incapable of doing anything else, he asked warily, "A-Are you gonna boil me in a pot?!"

He caught his breath and released the kid's foot, with a bit of laughter. "Boil you? No, you wouldn't be fulfilling at all, skinny brat."

Though this was a relief, Masahiro's stomach began to wail in resentment and anguish. He clutched his stomach sheepishly.

"Ah, I see." he ran his fingers through his hair, "You're hungry... Come, I'll make you something to eat. But you have to stay this time, or I'll really boil you." He got to his feet and led the way downstairs, into the closed-off section of the bakery that acted as their breakfast nook. Ken was already sitting pretty in his chair, waiting patiently for food while his mother prepared the coffee.

With no need to fuss about preparing the bakery, per the sweet bliss of the weekend, breakfast was bound to be peaceful. But firstly, Kousuke prioritized introducing the little one that trailed far behind him as they descended the steps. "Ken, Mom. I hope you don't mind, we have a guest."

The woman looked down at her guest; she let out an excitable noise, "I could just eat him up! He is so cute. Hi there…! Please feel free to eat with us, okay?"

Kousuke patted his head briefly and pulled out a chair for him, across from Ken who was in awe at the unexpected guest. While they were free to chat, he set to assisting his mother (or rather, being assisted by…) in the kitchen, preparing omurice.

"What's your name?" Ken asked, swinging his legs beneath the table anxiously. "How old are you? What's your favorite color? How'd you meet my big brother? Are you scared?"

The bombardment of questions made the poor kid nervous, but he handled them easily. "M...Masahiro." the remaining answers had him stammer a bit, especially the inquiry about whether or not he was scared. Because he most certainly was, but…

Ken was easy to talk to, it turned out. But his excitable nature was difficult to keep up with, so early in the morning.

"Hey." Kousuke swatted Ken upside the head with chopsticks as he set the table, "Don't be annoying. This is why your only friend is Hasekura."

"Huh?! Hasekura's not my only friend!" he protested.

"He would be very disappointed to hear that." he remarked, though Ken didn't quite catch it. He set plates for himself and his mother. As time passed, Masahiro and Ken spent more time chatting, and though it was general nonsense (cartoons, snacks and games seemed to be the foremost priority in Ken's mind) it was heartening to see Masahiro chat with someone his own age. Even if Ken was more or less leading the conversation.

"Breakfast is served, you brats."

The ambiance of Saturday morning breakfast combined with the sweet scent of the bakery was a sensation that could only be described as heavenly. It was so inviting, that even someone like Masahiro who felt awfully out of place in this situation, was able to eat his meal calmly.

"So, Masahiro, is it…? Where do you live?" asked Miho, who was innocently curious about her son's new friend.

"Ah… I live near…"

Kousuke raised looked up from his mug, briefly, in order to raise a brow at the sentiment. The neighborhood he mentioned was renowned for its gang activity. It made sense, for a kid like that, involved with _those_ people to come from that area. But, still…

"Huh? It must be scary… Well, come and play with Ken as much as possible, okay? I'm sure Hasekura wouldn't mind sharing!"

"You would be wrong…" muttered Kousuke, though this went unheard.

"In any case, I hope you two get along. Where do you go to school?"

As Masahiro finished his plate, he paused in order to swallow and look down at his empty plate, his demeanor exuding shame. "I...don't go.."

There was a cacophonic crash upon the tabletop, followed by the low sizzle of hot coffee singing the cloth. Kousuke was quick to fetch a rag and clean it up, separating his mother from the mess as soon as possible before it could reach her. "Geez… Be more careful, Mom…"

"Oh..!" the woman was evidently flustered by her mess "I'm sorry, it's just that… A child not going to school in this day and age is just… Ah, well…"

"I-It's because…" Masahiro struggled to explain "I...don't really know where it is, since we moved here recently…"

Seeing as any further explanation could potentially result in more spilt coffee, Kousuke shifted the conversation elsewhere. "I'll help you with the dishes. Ken… Go show Masahiro your beetle."

Ken perked up and abandoned his chair immediately, taking Masahiro by the hand quickly as he pulled him upstairs. "I'll show you, his name is Kuwakichi! Hasekura and I caught him last… Ah, Hasekura is…"

Their chatter faded away the further they got from the kitchen.

He turned to his mother, who seemed to be visibly concerned. "That boy, Masahiro… Does he…?"

"Have a mother?" he guessed "I don't know. When I asked him, he said that he doesn't know where she is right now. Who knows what that means."

"But he isn't in school, either. And they recently moved here… Does he really have nobody?"

He considered it, and supposed… that wasn't _completely_ the truth.

If those bastards from the park counted as 'somebody'. But they didn't. "As far as I know, he's alone. Surprised that the kid's still kickin' honestly, boys like him usually get snatched up by…"

He stopped, swallowing a nervous gulp as his mother's gaze was bearing holes into the back of his throat. "Ah, I mean… Kids like him should be at school."

"That's right." she huffed, "Geez… Just what is his mother thinking? If she doesn't hurry back, she'll miss out on too many things, you know? Who else is going to send him to school with a bento, and welcome him home everyday."

"Dunno." he admitted, finding it somewhat admirable that his mother was the type of angelic person who would attribute that behavior to a woman she's never even met.

" _Too optimistic."_ he thought.

"Kousuke…" the tone of his mother's voice was alarming. He knew what she was thinking before she even— "What if we take him in?!"

"Huh? Mom, I-"

She turned to face him with a smile. "I don't see it as a problem, so why not? We could use another hand around here to help out with the bakery! And Ken would have someone to play with."

"Look… I understand where you're coming from. But don't you think that you're doing enough already? Putting Ken and I through school, on top of managing the bakery. What are you going to do when I'm not around to help you?"

"Having Masahiro around would mean one more person to talk to, right? Who else is going to go through old photo albums with me. Neither of you will..! Ah, but you two were so cute…" she was getting off track. "Oh, I should take a picture of him and Ken playing together..!"

He briefly wondered if the woman was more excited about harboring a parentless child or adding to her photo album. Still…

It would be an added financial strain, taking this kid in. And yet, in spite of every logical bone in his body telling him to let it go.

" _Look at him. He looks like he hasn't eaten in days, and he attacks every meal like a dog."_

Someone so pitiful… could not be overlooked, by the person inside of him. He reconvened with his mother about the final verdict and headed upstairs, into Ken's room. "Mom called you." he lied, "She wants you to take out the trash."

"Aw…" Ken frowned as he put his beetle back in his box, "No fair! It's your tu- Agh!" he was 'urged' down the steps with his brother's foot.

Left behind with little else to do but watch the beetle absently fumble around in his habitat, Masahiro looked up without saying a word.

Kousuke knelt down to his level and looked him in the eye. "How would you feel about staying here, until your mama comes home. Sounds like a good deal, right? As long as you work and do your share around here, we'll stuff you with bread everyday."

Masahiro was silent, though his eyes had widened considerably. He was taking this decision seriously. And struggling with it, too, if the way he gripped his knees was any indication. "Stay...here…?" he asked "Me…?"

"...Who else but you?"

"But, I… Can I really-?" the kid perked up for a moment, but experienced a sudden lull in his spirits. Kousuke noticed it, too, because he lowered his head as if he'd something to be ashamed of.

"...Thank you." he bowed until his forehead touched the floor "But I can't… If I stay, nobody will be home. And the landlord might think that we moved, and if that happens…" he hesitated, "Mom… Mom will have nowhere to go back to. So I can't. I'm sorry!"

Kousuke was shocked, to say the least. He sat there with his mouth hanging open a bit longer than he should have, trying to imagine how a kid so small, so hungry that he'd steal from _anyone_ for food would be even remotely concerned about the woman who did this to him.

...Then again, that was just how kids worked, wasn't it? No matter who, if it's someone who they know that they're supposed to love from the bottom of their heart, then they'll do their best.

" _He really is like a dog."_ remarked his bitter thoughts.

Masahiro did not look up until Kousuke placed a warm hand on his head, and ruffled his hair thoroughly. "It's fine. I get it, so get up… You should be more cautious about who you bow to."

"You… You're not mad?"

"Mad?" he leaned back and looked up at his brother's plain roof, "Not really… Well, just as long as you come back here to play with Ken, I won't be mad. Oh, and go to school, too… Starting Monday, I'll find a way to take you."

"Okay." he continued to sit on his knees in a way that inadvertently emphasized just how small he was, at this tender grade-school age.

"Also, I don't want to catch you hanging out with those thugs again. Kids like you need to hang out with someone your own age. Your worries should be 'what color crayon do I want to use today?' and have nothing to do with guys like that."

"...Okay." his agreement here seemed to bear some hesitation, but it was good that he wasn't putting up a fight.

"Great." he removed his hand and rose to his feet, "I'll take you home later. So don't think that you can hide from me if you run off, or I'll eat you." he threatened as he left the room.

He couldn't see the expression that the kid was making as he descended the stairs, wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Part of him wanted nothing more than the satisfaction of his smiling face, but the other part knew that there was only so much he could do for the kid in terms of what was within his capabilities.

He'd been having that conflict ever since the kid showed up to the door, actually. The realist in him would not stop arguing with the hero that he'd squandered so long ago. But here he was, compelling him to take in a pitiful kid and give him as much as he could, with the intention of watching him grow into someone who could, someday, stand on his own.

" _Ah_ , but what do I know…" he sighed to himself, "I'm just a thug that beats up thugs."

* * *

 **A/N: Originally posted on AO3, may add more.**


End file.
